Now that Twinkies have returned to market, a homemade Twinkie maker might not classify as the same magnitude of necessity that it did for about 8 months there. But, still, it's kind of a necessity. You never know when Hostess is going to suddenly and soullessly rip the creme-filled cakes from our shelves and our 2 a.m. weed- or Ambien-induced munchie attacks again. Henceforth, we must always plan for the worst, and we must always carry backup.

The Hostess electric Twinkie-making machine takes mere minutes to bake batches of 6 spongy logs from heaven. Included with the cooker are a recipe booklet and pastry bag for injecting the cakes with what, in my case, will likely amount to double, or maybe sextuple, the standard amount of silky white filling.

Twinkie trivia: C. Dean Metropoulos & Co and Apollo Group Management, the private equity firms that salvaged the bankrupt Hostess company and reintroduced Twinkies to our lives, also bought Pabst Blue Ribbon. Which means Twinkies and PBR are like stepbrothers now! Further proof that I should enjoy the two often and in combination!